The British House of Commons approves the law of exit from the EU

Ⓒ AFP – Daniel Leal-Olivas – | The deputies approved, by 324 votes in favor and 195 against, this law, whose procedure has been a headache for Prime Minister Theresa May, and now the text will be debated and voted in the upper house, the Lords

The British House of Commons approved on Wednesday the draft law of exit of the European Union, advancing one step more in the Brexit and ignoring the debate on a second referendum.

The deputies approved, by 324 votes in favor and 195 against, this law, whose procedure has been a headache for Prime Minister Theresa May, and now the text will be debated and voted in the upper house, that of the Lords.

When approved, this bill will incorporate thousands of articles of EU legislation into the British legal system and repeal those British laws on the block’s membership.

The Lords are expected to start debating the text on January 30 and 31 and the process will last several months.

The process of the law has been tortuous for the government.

Eleven members of the conservative party, May, joined the opposition last month to pass an amendment making sure that Parliament would have a „significant vote“ on the final Brexit agreement.

Fearful of another defeat, the government reached a compromise on another amendment wanted by May that set the date and time of Brexit: March 29, 2019, at 11.00pm GMT.

May agreed to give parliamentarians the power to amend the definition of ‚exit day‘ if it appears that negotiations have not concluded.

If approved, the bill will go to the House of Lords, mostly pro-European and, therefore, inclined to subject it to greater scrutiny.

Veteran Conservative MP Kenneth Clarke, a furious pro-European, said Tuesday that the House of Lords could amend the text, something unusual, before voting.

„The idea that the bill (…) will pass smoothly through the House of Lords is an illusion,“ he said. „I hope the other place (the Lords) makes a large number of changes,“ he wished.

– ‚Our heart is still open‘ –

On the first of two days of debate in the Commons, on Tuesday, the conservative deputy and leader of the rebellion against May, Dominic Grieve, raised concerns about plans not to incorporate into the British legal system the charter of fundamental rights of the EU .

„I think that postponing this issue later and saying ‚do not worry, everything will be fine‘ … it conveys a very strange message,“ he said.

In the meantime, the Scottish autonomous government has repeatedly called for the amendments it has submitted to be accepted in order to prevent the loss of competences after Brexit.

The United Kingdom and the EU reached a preliminary agreement in late 2017 on the divorce bill that London will pay, the rights of Europeans living in the country and vice versa and the future of the Irish border, opening the door to the second phase of the conversations.

However, May faces a difficult task in deciding the relationship she wants in the future with the EU, divided between some members of her cabinet who want to stay as close as possible to the single market and others that favor a net break.

European Union leaders on Tuesday even opened the door for Britain to change its mind about Brexit.

The comments in this regard by the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker, among others, influenced the debate on whether the British would have to vote again on the Brexit.

One of the leaders of the campaign in favor of the departure of the EU in the June 2016 referendum, Nigel Farage, put the question surprisingly on the table, stating that he was increasingly open to the idea.

„Our heart is still open to you,“ Tusk told the British.

The British House of Commons approves the law of exit from the EU was last modified: Januar 17th, 2018 by James PHEBY